Support programme marks one year of assisting foreign senior citizens in Mijas

The Mijas councillor for Foreign Residents, Roy Pérez, and the councillor for Social Inclusion, Hipólito Zapico, held a meeting on Wednesday with representatives of different social groups involved with Apemex, a programme designed to help foreign senior citizens in the area that is celebrating its first anniversary.

The initiative, which was launched by the foreigners’ office in 2022, is designed to offer help and support to pensioners registered in Mijas who live alone. The programme has the collaboration of several charitable associations, like Age Care and Age Concern, the Red Cross, La Cala de Mijas Lions Club, The Royal British Legion, as well as Local Police. The group meets every three months in order to continue “perfecting a support network” that includes bureaucratic processes, medical procedures, and translation and advocacy services. It also organises social meetings so that elderly foreign residents can enjoy a variety of social activities.

Zapico pointed out that the programme offers services to “foreigners who have retired to Mijas, especially those with mobility problems”.

“Over the last 12 months, the town hall has worked closely with volunteer-run associations to offer the necessary services to make sure these people don’t feel alone. The programme is run in conjunction with the social services department, which has helped people, mainly British residents, with numerous things such as hospital and doctor’s appointments, banking procedures and even repatriation,” the councillor explained.